History UnderfootAtlanta

Ezra Church

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Order of battle

  1. July 27 to morning of July 28S.D. Lee took command of Hood's old corps on July 27 and moved Brown's and Clayton's divisions from the east works to White Hall (West End), with Stewart following with Loring and Walthall. Howard's Army of the Tennessee swung south behind Blair's right: Dodge's XVI and Blair's XVII Corps along Chappell Rd facing the city, and Logan's XV Corps extending south and west.
    Units: CS S.D. Lee's corps (Brown, Clayton; Stevenson left in the lines), Stewart's corps (Walthall, Loring; French left in place). US Army of the Tennessee (Howard): XVI (Dodge), XVII (Blair), XV (Logan) 123
  2. late morningLogan's line, from right to left: Lightburn's brigade (M.L. Smith's division) on the ridge on the extreme right; Martin's brigade southeast to Williams's brigade (Harrow's division) near today's Westlake Ave; Oliver's brigade on the school grounds to the tip of the salient at Laurel and Archer; Walcutt's brigade on the salient's southeast face; and Woods's division (Wangelin, Williamson, Milo Smith) northeast along the old Lick Skillet road past Ezra Church to the XVII Corps. They threw up logs, rails and church benches filled with knapsacks.
    Units: US XV Corps: M.L. Smith's div (Lightburn, Martin), Harrow's div (Williams, Oliver, Walcutt), Woods's div (Wangelin, Williamson, Milo Smith) 456
  3. 10 a.m.Lee sent Brown and Clayton out the Lick Skillet road (Gordon St/Rd) to the Poor House, south of today's Westview main gate. W.H. Jackson's cavalry reported the Federal infantry small. Hood's instructions are quoted differently: the 1964 tablet has Lee told to attack the Federal right and drive it from the road by Ezra Church, while the GCWHT marker has him told 'not to attack unless the enemy exposes himself in attacking us'. Lee attacked at once.
    Units: CS Brown's & Clayton's divs; W.H. Jackson's cavalry div 178
  4. about noonBrown's division deployed southwest of the road, with Brantley's, Sharp's and Johnston's brigades from left to right and Manigault's in reserve, and shifted 250 yards left to reach Logan's refused right. Brantley's Mississippians carried the log barricades of the 83rd Indiana (Lightburn) and were thrown back. Martin's oblique fire broke Sharp, and Johnston fell wounded. A second attack with Manigault also failed.
    Units: CS Brown's div (Brantley, Sharp, Johnston, Manigault). US Lightburn's & Martin's bdes (M.L. Smith's div), Williams's bde (Harrow) 91
  5. about 12:10–1 p.m.Ten minutes after Brown advanced, Gibson's brigade (Clayton) was sent in by a staff officer before the division was ready. It struck Harrow's salient at Laurel and Archer unsupported and was repulsed. Baker's brigade followed, and the two lost 'one-half of their original numbers'; Holtzclaw's brigade was not engaged.
    Units: CS Clayton's div (Gibson, Baker; Holtzclaw not engaged). US Harrow's div (Oliver, Walcutt) 61
  6. midday to afternoonSherman sent Davis's XIV Corps division, under J.D. Morgan, on a wide march to come in on Logan's right by the Lick Skillet road; it lost its way and was recalled. Blair and Dodge sent 10 to 12 regiments to Logan to replace men whose rifles had grown too hot to use.
    Units: US Davis's div, XIV Corps (Morgan); regiments of the XVI & XVII Corps 101
  7. about 2:30 p.m.Stewart's corps arrived. Walthall's division, with Reynolds on the right, Cantey's (O'Neal's) on the left and Quarles in reserve, then on O'Neal's left, attacked over ground covered with Brown's dead and wounded, still overlapped by Logan's line, and lost over a third of its men.
    Units: CS Walthall's div (Reynolds, O'Neal/Cantey, Quarles). US Lightburn's & Martin's bdes and reinforcing regiments 15
  8. late afternoon to 10 p.m.Stewart was struck by a spent bullet on the hill at today's MLK Jr Dr and Gordon Terr, and Loring was also wounded. Walthall, now in command, stopped the attacks and kept Loring's division in place, and at 10 p.m. Hood withdrew his troops to Atlanta.
    Units: CS Stewart's corps (Walthall, Loring) 111
  9. resultLogan reported repulsing 'six successive charges' at a cost of 562; Blair and Dodge lost 45. Other counts of Union losses run from 632 (Hess) and 642 (ABT) to 700 (NPS). Confederate losses were at least 3,000 (Hess; ABT), and Hood's own estimate on the 1964 tablet is 4,632 (NPS 4,642).
    Units: Both armies 11213